Learning to Survive
by MelodyAnne
Summary: (FUTURE FIC) When Sydney's daughter turns 18, she begins a quest to find the father she never knew, whom she discovers knew nothing of her existence. How was she to know finding her father would also mean finding her mother's worst enemies?[COMPLETE]
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: Leah and Jeff are **MINE**, but Sydney, Vaughn, and all other recognizable characters belong to JJ.

A/N: This whole thing starts pre-SD-6 takedown, so just remember: Sloane is still at large! That makes the prologue a stolen moments sorta thing.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He loved her. She had no doubts about that. Someday, after SD-6 was gone, they would be together. They would get married, and have children, and be _happy…_

But that was a long way off, Sydney reminded herself carefully. The novelty of spending the night, _all night_, with Vaughn, had unleashed her overactive imagination.

It had been more than she'd ever imagined it would be. She, a hardened agent, would even go so far as to say it was magical to be with him.

An alarm clock buzzed on the hotel nightstand, and Sydney rolled over to shut it off. Vaughn had drifted off to sleep, even if Sydney hadn't, and she didn't want to wake him. It was, after all, 3 AM. She had to catch a six o'clock flight back to LA, back to pretending allegiance to a man she hated. But even if she hadn't had to worry about the plane, she had to leave Vaughn before daylight graced the busy Italian town, or risk SD-6 seeing her somehow.

As quietly as she could, Sydney pulled clothes from her small suitcase and closed the door before turning on the shower. She jumped a full ten feet into the air when she turned to find Vaughn standing close behind her in the small space, nothing separating their bodies but the clothes she clutched to her chest.

"You didn't think you were gonna sneak out on me, did you?" he asked, running his hands up and down her arms.

"Of course not," she murmured as he kissed her.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oooh, perfect, huh? That's how they should be all the time, without the interference of Evilauren. Which is why I've left Lauren completely out of this fic. That way the disaster is completely…not Lauren's fault. Hey, it's Syd and Vaughn, their entire relationship is based on disaster!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The only characters JJ can't claim are Leah and Jeff. So far.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Happy birthday!" Sydney said brightly, pulling aside the thick curtains to allow bright sunlight to flood the room.

"Aw, Mom," Leah complained, pulling the blankets over her head. "Can't a girl sleep in on her birthday?" she begged from underneath the blanket.

"Come on, sleepyhead!" Sydney chided. "A girl doesn't turn eighteen every day! You don't want to sleep the day away, do you?"

"Yes," came the muffled reply; Leah had turned over and put her pillow over her head.

"Come on," Sydney repeated, tugging at the tangle of blankets. "Your Jeffrey's already called twice, and I think he's of the distinct impression that I don't like him and am trying ot run him off."  


"Ugh," Leah moaned, rolling out of bed and adjusting the tank top and shorts she'd slept in. "I've warned him about calling early on Saturdays. What time _is_ it, anyway?"

"Almost eight." 

"Mmmm…" Leah mumbled, falling backwards onto her bed.

Sydney yanked the blankets away before Leah could tug them back over her head.

"Up!" she ordered crisply. "I'm not answering the phone again."

"I'm gonna kill Jeff," Leah muttered.

Leah stumbled into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her f ace. It was barely June. She'd graduated less than a week ago, third in her class. Didn't a girl deserve a break? Her summer job didn't start for another week yet. She'd been accepted to a college one state away, in South Carolina, just a couple hours away from her hometown in Georgia. And she couldn't even sleep past eight on a Saturday!

Looking up at her tousled brown curls in the mirror, she sighed. Then she grabbed a clip from the counter and pulled the whole mess back from her face.

"What kind of breakfast food do we still have?" she asked, rifling through kitchen cabinets a few minutes later.

"I think we still have some cereal in eh pantry." Sydney grinned. "And there are brownies in the fridge." 

"Better. Milk?"

"Yep."

Leah sat down at the kitchen table a minute later with a plate of dark chocolate brownies and a tall glass of milk.

"I still don't see how you eat that for breakfast," Sydney said with a disdainful look over her shoulder while she refilled her coffee cup.

"And I don't see how you drink that stuff _ever_," Leah retorted. "It can be mostly milk, and I still can't choke it down."

"A few years at teaching and you'd change your mind," Sydney said with a shrug.

"A soda suits me fine." 

The silence that fell would have been comfortable if Leah hadn't fallen back on thoughts that had plagued her often lately, as they always did near her birthday. Her mother sensed her train of thought as well.

"Mom," she finally said softly. "Can we talk?"

Sydney tensed up, but took a seat facing her daughter silently.

"Mom, two years ago I asked you, and you said I wasn't old enough, I wouldn't understand. But I'm eighteen today, Mom. I'm an adult. I think I deserve to hear the truth about my father, Mom." Leah's eyes were pleading.

Sydney had made a point of never lying to her daughter; she never wanted Leah to go through the same trauma she had upon learning the truth about her parents. But she'd never told Leah the whole truth, even though Leah had always known there were secrets she didn't know.

"Leah, I'm not sure…" Sydney began.

"Mom, I'm an adult. I want…I _need_ to know who I am, where I come from. Not just part of it, but all of it. You've never even told me how you met my father," Leah accused.

"Leah, I've explained that I haven't told you because I don't want to lie to you. I'm just not sure what I can tell you now so that it won't hurt anybody." 

"Mom, just tell me the truth. Please." 

Sydney sighed; she had never been able to refuse those sparkling green eyes when their owner had asked something of her, even before her baby girl had turned them on her.

"Leah…I haven't always been a teacher. When I was nineteen…" Sydney decided a simple version of the truth would be best. "I started working in intelligence."

"Intelligence?" Leah knitted her eyebrows until a crease appeared between them. "You mean like FBI?"

"CIA," Sydney corrected. "I met your father I the CIA. He was my handler." 

Leah's eyes were wide and confused.

"So…my father was CIA too?" she asked.

Sydney nodded. "V-Michael and I were attracted to each other the first time we met, but…the agency frowned on Agent-Handler relationships."

"And he was your handler. You didn't just say 'screw the rules'?" Leah asked, eyes twinkling.

Sydney smiled wanly. "Not from a long time. Then, one time, he was sent with me on a mission. The night you were conceived, Leah…" Sydney swallowed over a lump in her throat. "That was the last time I saw him. When I found out I was pregnant, I ran. It would have gotten us both into too much trouble, and I didn't want to risk loosing you, baby. So…I just disappeared."

Leah's jaw dropped.

"HE doesn't know about me?!?" Leah cried.

Sydney shook her head and dropped her eyes. She couldn't stand to see the tears in her daughter's eyes.

"I just always thought he _knew_. I thought there must be some really good reason he wasn't around, like…I don't know! I just thought he'd know, Mom!" she cried, keeping the tears mercilessly in check.

"I'm sorry, baby," Sydney said in shame. "There have been so many times I almost wished I'd told him, but Leah, I loved him, and you so much, and you will _never understand_ the danger we'd all have been in if some people had found out about us, or about you."

"I'd like to meet him," Leah said after a long moment of hesitation. "I want him to know me."

Fear filled Sydney's eyes, and though she forced it under a cool calm quickly, its appearance didn't escape her daughter.

"No. Leah, the people that would have hurt you then would still hurt you now, if they found you. Please, Leah, let this rest. For me, Leah," Sydney begged.

Leah stared steadily at her mother for several minutes before standing silently. Sydney thought she heard Leah say "I need to know who I am," but her voice was so quiet it could have been anything.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff was all smiles when Leah pulled up in front of his house in her Dodge Neon that she'd managed to get about a year ago. He knew nothing about the suitcase I the trunk of the little red car that she'd tossed out her window so her mother wouldn't see her sneak it out.

"Happy birthday, Baby," he said, greeting her with a hug and a kiss. Jeff, too, would be going off to college in the fall, and hearing the term of endearment only served to make her feel guilty about taking off for who knew how long during their last summer together as kids.

"Thanks, Jeff." Leah sighed. "I need a favor. Can I use your computer?"

"Sure, Babe. What's up?"

"I'll explain in a minute. Let me regroup, okay?" Leah requested. Suddenly, she wasn't sure what she could or should tell Jeff.

"Okay, sure," Jeff said, worried by her tone alone.

Leah accessed her e-mail account on Jeff's computer and began typing what proved to be a lengthy letter to her mother. By a skill that had proved to have an actual use on few occasions, Leah talked as she typed.

"My mom told me some things about my father today," she began. "She said that before I was born, they were both working for…the government. I guess she got scared when she realized she was pregnant, because she ran. She never told my father about me, and she as much as refused to today when I asked her." 

"That's harsh," Jeff commented.

"I need to know him, Jeff. He's part of who I am, and I need to know that part. I'm going to find him." 

"How? I mean, birth records aren't going to help if your mom didn't record his name." 

"No, Jeff, you don't understand. I'm _going_ to find him. I'm going to LA."

"Why LA?"

"Mom used to tell me about living there, before she got pregnant. That must be where she was living when she worked in the…government."

"Is your mom okay with this? When are you leaving?"

"Mom doesn't know. That's why I need your help. I'm leaving today. I need you to send this e-mail to my mother, once I've had a few hour's head start. When she calls, Jeff, please don't tell her where I'm going. You don't even have to tell her you saw me today, if you'd rather stay out of it," Leah said.

"God, Leah, are you sure? You shouldn't really travel cross country alone. I could come with you…" Jeff offered.

"You're so sweet," Leah said, trailing a finger affectionately down his cheek. "But I think I need to do this alone. I've got over a thousand dollars saved up in the bank. I'll withdraw it all before I leave and hide it in my car. I'll be okay. Please do this for me?"

"Leah, I'm not going to regret this, am I?" Jeff asked. "If anything happens to you, I'll never forgive myself for letting you do this alone."

"I promise, Jeff. You won't regret this. I'll be back before the end of summer and we'll do something really special before we have to leave for college."

Jeff sighed. "Okay, Leah, I'll do it. Are you going to leave now?"

Leah nodded. "Mom won't start to worry for a good three hours yet, and by then I can be well into Alabama."

The walked back out to her car hand in hand.

"I love you, Jeff. You're the best. I'll call you tonight, okay?" Leah said.

"Okay. Oh, wait. I almost forgot to give you your present," Jeff said, dashing back inside and returning with a package wrapped in bright red paper. "You can open it when you get homesick," he teased.

"Thanks, Jeff." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and got into her car. Jeff leaned down to the open window. 

"I love you, Lee. Be careful."

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cute, huh? If I were Leah, my mother would have caught me and torn my hide into about a thousand pieces, despite adulthood…I swear the woman has eyes in the back of her head, and some sort of telepathic link into my mind…but anyway…

What do ya'll think? Naturally, Jeff is going to regret not tagging along, but that's just the Bristow in Leah…She attracts trouble. Right?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Yep, Jeff and Leah are still the only ones that belong to me.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hours after Leah had left to meet her boyfriend, Sydney was still pacing restlessly around her house.

__

Overall, she took it pretty well, Sydney reminded herself for the umpteenth time. It had been the fact that her father didn't know that bothered her so much. Leah would come home later, they'd talk, and Sydney would convince Leah it was for the best Vaughn didn't know about his daughter.

The computer set up in the corner of the living room chimed, signaling new e-mail in Sydney's inbox. It surprised Sydney; it had been a little under a year since she had required Leah to let her know exactly where she was, but even then Leah's cell phone had come with e-mail capabilities and Leah had preferred that to actually calling. Leah had always been good about giving Sydney a general idea where she would be.

Something warned Sydney even before she opened the e-mail to see it wasn't a short little note saying she'd be home in an hour. Sydney sat frozen, her only movement to scroll down on the e-mail.

__

Mom, I'm sorry. I'm going to find my father. It's not only unfair to him not to know about me, but it's unfair to me too. I'm an adult, I'm going off to college in a few months. I need to know my father to know all of who I am, Mom. Please don't worry about me. I have plenty of money, and I can take care of myself. You insisted on all those self-defense lessons so you wouldn't have to worry, right? I'll call you later. Love ya, Leah.

It took Sydney several long minutes to move, or even to think beyond the panic. Her baby had gone looking for Vaughn. Once Leah put her mind to something, there was a damn good chance she'd manage it. There'd be no question whose child she was, with Vaughn's green eyes and so many of his mannerisms and her face a carbon copy of Sydney's at that age.

That the CIA agents Sydney had worked with would know wasn't the problem. But the agents, and more importantly Arvin Sloane, of SD-6 would know her for the child of an agent that disappeared without a trace over eighteen years ago.

Finally, Sydney broke free of the fear. Typing commands rapidly into the computer, pulling up the unsecured server address the e-mail had been sent from, then tracing that back to the IP of the computer took her less than five minutes. The IP was that of Jeffrey Patterson's personal computer in his room.

Sydney toyed with the idea of trying to call Jack Bristow, but she'd only talked to him twice since she'd left, and the last time had been over five years ago. There was no way to know how to get in touch with him now. Stopping only to grab her purse, Sydney shot out the door on her way to Jeffrey's house. Jeff had better have some answers, or…or…or she'd hurt him until he did!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vaughn paced the confines of his office in the CIA building miserably. He had mountains of work on his desk he should have been doing, but he just couldn't get _her _out of his mind today. He'd trained himself to get on with his life, and locked her memory away in a tightly shut box near his heart, but he rarely thought about her consciously. He couldn't stop the dreams, but he sure as hell could try.

Today, Sydney seemed to be in everything. Everything he said or did or looked at reminded him of her, of the one night they'd had, of how she'd disappeared before he'd been able to see her again.

He was pretty sure SD-6 hadn't found out about them, or her status as a double agent. They would have made _damn_ sure the CIA had found the body if they'd killed her. But he didn't _know_.

Jack had never persisted to pester the higher-ups to continue the search for her when all leads came up dead ends. So he'd probably heard from her. But Vaughn didn't _know, _and days like this, infrequent as they were after close to nineteen years, were enough to send him home to his lonely apartment with an earsplitting migraine.

Something just felt different today. Like something was going to change.

__

Right, Vaughn scoffed at himself. _And pigs are going to fly, and people are all good at heart._

A life in the CIA had certainly rid him of that last illusion. For awhile there, he'd thought Fate was apologizing for dealing him such a bad hand by giving him a shot with Sydney, but then that had been snatched away as well.

Yeah, he was no longer an idealistic kid. He put no stock whatsoever in his "feeling" that something was about to happen.

With a sound between a groan and a roar, Vaughn launched himself toward his desk. Sydney or no, he had to get _something_ done today. No use letting the director know what was in his head.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney would have missed the flash of fear of Jeff's face had she not been trained to notice just such slips. She climbed from her car with a smile.

"Hi, Jeffrey, is Leah here?" she asked cheerily.

Jeff was flustered. He'd assumed when he saw her car that she'd gotten the e-mail, but this wasn't reaction he'd expected.

"Hey, Ms. Bristow. She's not here. Why?" Jeff asked carefully.

"Have you seen her today?"

"Uh, actually…"

"Don't lie to me, Jeffery," Sydney warned in a tone she'd heard her own father use far too often in her life.

"Really, Ms. Bristow, I…"

Sydney moved toward him so fast he had no chance to react. Before he knew what had happened, she had his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

"Arg!"

"Tell me where my daughter is, you lying, conniving little…" She gave his arm a painful jerk with each word.

"Ugh! Okay! Stop! Ow!"

She gave him a little push as she released him. 

  
"Wimp. My daughter is too good for you. Now where the hell is she? That e-mail came from your computer!" she snapped.

Jeff rubbed his shoulder, which throbbed.

"Damn, where'd you learn to do that? Okay!" he yelped, edging away when Sydney moved toward him again. "All I know is she was looking for her father. She typed up the e-mail around noon today, and I promised her I'd give her a few hours head start before I sent it to you." 

Sydney narrowed her eyes.

"There's more."

"Ms. Bristow, really…"

"Jeffrey, if you don't tell me the truth, and all of it, in the next five seconds, I'm going to do the same to your other arm."

"Okay, okay. What were a secret agent in another life?" he joked awkwardly, fearful of her attacking him again.

"Something like that," Sydney said with a tight smile.

"Okay. Can I ask you something first?" Jeff asked cautiously.

"What?" Sydney asked shortly.

"Why are you so worried? I mean, Lee sort of ran off, but she's not a kid. She can take care of herself. What's wrong? What's the difference between her going to find her father alone and going off to college alone?"

Jeff's insight was just enough to remind Sydney she'd been out of espionage for a long time, and she was slipping.

"Jeff, it'll suffice to say there are things about this Leah doesn't understand," Sydney said softly. "And things she doesn't know. Things I would have told her if I thought she'd run off like this. Now, please, what else did Leah tell you?"

"She said you'd told her about living someplace before you had her, and that was where she was going because it had to be where you met her father." Jeff figured that if Leah was right, her mother would know where to go, but if she was wrong she wasn't headed for trouble.

"Is she going to contact you, Jeffrey?"

Jeff paused. "Yeah. She said she'd call me tonight. Why?"

"Find out where she is when she calls. But don't tell her I want to know. Jeffrey, you just have to believe me when I tell you she has no idea what she's up against, and it's not something she can handle. Don't warn her, just find out where she is so I can go get her." 

Jeff must have sensed her sincerity, or her panic, one, because he agreed readily.

"Okay, is Lee in real danger, Ms. Bristow?" Jeff was genuinely worried. "Be honest with me. After nearly dislocating my shoulder, you owe me that," he added with a thin smile.

Sydney sighed. "Yes, I believe Leah may be in mortal danger if I don't stop her."

They had yet to move from the driveway, and Sydney turned and grabbed a notebook and pencil from her car.

"Here," she said, scribbling her cell number down on a piece of paper and handing it to Jeff. "I'm going to start driving in the direction I think she went. Call me the second you hear form her. And give me your number."

She handed him the notebook and he wrote down a number.

"My cell. I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing, but I'll keep the phone with me at all times until Leah is home." 

"Okay. Don't forget. _As soon as you hear from her._"

Sydney started to get into her car, and Jeff started back into the house that would be empty until his parent got home from work. He planned to do some quality pacing until Leah called.

"Hey, Jeff, wait," Sydney said, turning back. "I didn't hurt you too much before, did I?"

Jeff laughed. "Scared me, more than anything," he lied. "I've never seen you move so fast, Ms. Bristow."

"And…I didn't mean that part about my daughter being too good for you. Actually, I think you're good for her." Her expression became anxious again. "I can't handle loosing my daughter, Jeff, and I don't think you want to lose her, either."

Jeff seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"Leah means a lot to me," he finally said.

"Good to hear," Sydney mumbled as she got into her car.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok, I could seriously see my mother putting a potential boyfriend in a headlock to interrogate him. My aunt was absolutely horrible to all my cousin's boyfriends, but then, they deserved it. At least here Sydney threatens Jeff, then winds up letting him know she approves of him. So much for her cover as the disapproving mother! And note the comment in the Vaughn section about he director. You'll need to remember that later…

And please review. I refuse to write without reviews…(yes, that is a threat!)


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: It still belongs to JJ. Not me. I'm restricted to fics…

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah drove well into the night, stopping only for a burger and shake that she ate on the road. She was nearing the Alabama-Mississippi line before she stopped, realizing it was after midnight in Georgia and she still had to call Jeff. Plus, she'd seen three bright yellow elephants float across the highway, so it was probably best that she get some sleep. She dropped her suitcase on the floor of the little hotel room and immediately dialed Jeff's number.

"Leah?" Jeff snapped quickly. "Lee where are you? It's late. Are you just now stopping? You shouldn't have driven so late. May be you should…"

"Whoa! Jeff, breathe!" Leah said. "Um…yes, I just stopped. I wanted to get a good start today. I'm still in Alabama. And I promise not to drive until I'm so tired I start seeing yellow elephants tomorrow."

"Elephants?!?! Leah, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this. Where exactly are you?" Jeff demanded.

"Have you talked to my mom?"

"Yes! She traced your e-mail back to me! Damn, Leah, the woman nearly snapped my arm like a twig when I tried to tell her I hadn't seen you!"

"Mom took a lot of self-defense stuff when she worked for the government, I guess."

"Lee, babe, where are you? I'm worried about you," he pleaded.

"Jeff, uh, I'm not so sure my mother wouldn't get it out of you if I said. Is she very mad at me?"

"She's not mad, Lee, she's scared. I think she's really afraid you're going to get hurt."

"Jeff, I'll be fine. Tell her not to worry, and that I'll call her tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. I plan to get an early start tomorrow. Bye," Leah said abruptly.

"No, Leah, wait, don't…" The dial tone buzzed in his ear. "Well, there goes my pitching arm," Jeff muttered.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is!" Sydney screamed at him a few minutes later. She was more scared than anything else, and Jeff could tell.

"I'm sorry, but she doesn't want anyone to know where she is. She's afraid one of us will show up to stop her. All I know is she's in Alabama," Jeff said, exasperated. "I want to find her too, Ms. Bristow," he added softly.

Sydney sighed, very near tears. "I'll just keep driving. May be by some stroke of luck I'll find her before she gets to LA…oh, damn! I didn't mean to ell you that."

"Leah mentioned it. You're not going to drive all night, are you? That can't be safe."

"Boy, I've been through worse nights. I've got enough coffee that I'll be fine. Next time she calls you, tell her to call my cell, that I just want to hear it from her that she's okay."

Jeff thought about her tracing his computer's IP. "Can you trace her call?"

"I can try. Jeff, I think Leah and I and you are going to have to talk, assuming Leah and I come back," Sydney said.

"So the people that would hurt Leah," Jeff began. "They'd hurt you too?"

"They'd hurt Leah because of me," Sydney said miserably. "I don't want you to think I've been involved in anything criminal, but all the things I'm going to have to tell Leah and you will scare you even worse. Be careful, Jeff. If these people find out where I've been you might be in trouble too."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vaughn was getting very close to ready to shoot himself in the head just to put an end to the thoughts and memories he'd managed to keep locked away for so long. Now, he had suddenly been unable to think about anything else for two days.

He'd been short tempered, and snapped mercilessly at anyone who'd dared to cross the threshold of his office. Weiss had gotten the better of him that morning, though.

Weiss had taken one look at Vaughn and said with absolute confidence--for which Vaughn hated him--"You're thinking about her." Which, of course, had given Weiss the upper hand from the start.

"Leave me alone, Eric," Vaughn had said softly, unable to work up a sneer for his friend.

"Man, admit it. If she came back, you'd sweep her right off her feet without a single question. And that bugs you," Weiss commented.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I'd do, Weiss. And for all I know, she could have been working with SD-6 all this time. But I wouldn't _care._"

"Man, you got it bad. Look, we both know you're going to be useless today. You should just go ask for the rest of the day off."

"If I'm going to be useless, I might as well be useless where something might happen to take my mind off of my uselessness." Vaughn slumped in his desk chair. "I'll be fine tomorrow. Go…do something."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah was exhausted by the time she pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel around ten o'clock the second day she'd spent driving.

Her hands trembled as she picked up the phone to call Jeff. She figured he wouldn't be too happy with her.

"You drove all day, Leah!" Jeff yelled later. "What if you'd fallen asleep?"

"I'm not sleepy, Jeff," she said softly. "I never saw even one elephant. I'm wired. Jeff, I should be in LA by tomorrow evening. I'll take some time to find the building where my father worked, and then I'll turn in early and get a good night's sleep. I promise."

Jeff sighed. "Where are you, Lee? Even if I told your mom, there's no way she could stop you now. I'm worried, Lee."

"Jeff, I'll be in LA tomorrow, and then you'll know where I am. I'll call you when I find a room tomorrow, okay?"

Jeff only sighed in response.

"Your mom wants you to call her cell. She just wants to hear from you. It's not the same for her to hear it from me, and not fair, either. Promise me you'll call."

"Okay, I'll call. Bye, Jeff. Love you," she added softly, hanging up before he replied.

Leah had to redial her mother's cell number twice, her hands shook so bad.

"Mom, it's me," she said softly when her mother answered.

The muffled sob Leah heard on the line was nearly enough to make her abandon her crazy idea of finding the father she'd never known. Only it _wasn't_ crazy, she reminded herself. It was right.

"Leah! Oh, baby, you're okay! I've been so worried. Honey, I wish you'd just come home. You scared me."

"Mom, I'm fine. I'll be home soon, but I need to do this, for me, and for my father. You know it wasn't right, Mom, though I suspect you have good reasons for what you did. I need to get some sleep, Mom. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you." 

Leah hung up quietly, and allowed the wave of homesickness to wash over her, followed by silent tears.

God, she wished she could be at home, with people she loved to support her in everything she did. She was doing the right thing, but she was on her own. There was no one to reassure her this was right.

Leah stretched out on the bed and pressed her face into a pillow.

__

Is this how Mom felt when she was alone and pregnant? Leah wondered miserably.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney hung up with her daughter and immediately called Jeff.

"My car broke down!" she complained. "There's no way I'll catch up with her. How long before she gets to LA do you think?"

"She expects to get there tomorrow evening. How long on the car?" Jeff asked grimly.

"Two days, minimum. I can't even call anybody in LA to keep an eye on her. I don't know who's still there, or who I can trust." Sydney bit back tears.

"She'll be okay, Ms. Bristow. Lee's smart enough to watch out for herself."

"Not against this. Not when she doesn't know it's there…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vaughn was furious as he drove home. Three damn days, in which he'd accomplished nothing except to come to the conclusion that he was a pitiful fool.

He slowed his sedan to a complete stop once again. It was six o'clock, damn it! Traffic should be starting to clear up already.

Then he saw her. _Sydney! _his mind exalted. She looked just like she had when they'd met!

He moved forward with the flow of traffic, still watching the beautiful brunette, hoping she'd turn around so he could see her face…

Horns honked, and Vaughn barely managed to slam on the brakes before he hit the SUV in front of him. He needed to get home. His eyes were playing tricks on him. That wasn't Sydney. She would be much older than the woman he'd seen. And she'd been standing right in front of Credit Delphine, too. Even if she'd been working with SD-6, she hadn't been at the bank all those years. Jack hadn't seen her either.

Yeah, he just needed to go home and get some obviously much needed sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah had found a hotel room and been settled by five o'clock. She'd called Jeff and her mother, and had felt unbearably restless afterwards. She'd' seen the CIA building coming into town. So she'd started walking up and down the street in front of her hotel. Two blocks north, she'd seen the bank. It was huge, with three levels, at least.

They just didn't have buildings like that in rural Georgia. And the architecture was amazing. She'd stopped, back to the street, and stared upward at it.

When she'd heard the blast of horns in the street, she'd spun around, but nothing had been wrong.

She'd stayed out, just walking, until it had started to get dark. By then, she'd been tired enough to sleep, but the butterflies in her stomach kept her awake. _In just a few more hours she could go find her father…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Marshal stared in amazement at the security footage. Then he hastily printed out a hardcopy of the image and rushed to Sloane's office.

"Mr. Sloane, I, uh, I was scanning the security footage from the last few hours, and, well, I found something that I thought was well, interesting, and I thought, well, "Mr. Sloane will want this," so, uh…here," Marshal finished, handing over the picture.

Sloane's eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

"Sydney," he whispered. "Can you find out where this girl went?" he asked Marshal. "She may well have some answers about our missing agent."

"Yes, sir. All I have to do is synchronize the cameras sequentially, and…"

"Good. Report your findings only to me. I'll have tails placed on her." 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah's eyes popped open just after seven the next morning. That was good. Get an early start.

She left her hair loose and unruly, tumbling wildly down her back. She looked in the mirror as she gathered her sparse possessions, and her eyes were wide and nervous, but excitement flickered there too. The tiny hotel room seemed more like a comfort than it had since she'd arrive hwen she shut the door behind herself on her way to check out.

It must have been the fact that she was driving toward the CIA that made her wary and alert. halfway to her destination, she realized a dark car--it could have been green or black--had been two or three cars behind her since she'd left the hotel.

Zipping her car suddenly into a turning lame o the busy LA street, and watching in her rearview mirror, she saw the car follow.

"Well shit!" she yelled aloud. "What the hell is this?" It occurred to her that her mother had been unduly worried about her.

Leah dodged through traffic and in and out of side streets with a dexterity that surprised her. Fifteen minutes later, she was sure she'd lost the tail and hadn't gotten arrested in the process, so she was happy.

Her stomach fell all the way to her feet when she pulled into the parking lot of the CIA.

Walking up to a desk in the front of the building, Leah realized she had no idea what to say. The woman at the desk didn't look ready to deal with her and what the woman must assume would be her ridiculous requests.

"Can I help you?" she asked efficiently.

"I hope so," Leah said carefully, forcing a wan smile. "I'm looking for someone. His name is Michael, and…"

"If you want to file a missing person report, go to the police station," the woman said icily. "In case you didn't notice, this is the CIA."

"No! He works here. Or he did, eighteen…no, nineteen years ago," Leah said, realizing with every word how stupid she sounded.

"Look, miss, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I can't help you. I suggest you leave now, before I have you escorted out as a threat to security." Her eyes, Leah noted, were hard and mean.

Leah hung her head and stepped away. Before she reached the door, she paused to turn and scan the room hopefully. She'd just about given up when he walked in.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vaughn had moved from mad to thoroughly pissed. Four days. Four frickin' days. But at least he'd forced himself to get some work done. In fact, he had just completed a search of the entire building trying to find the director to hand him a report he'd requested. Only the man seemed to have dropped off the face ofhte earth, now that Vaughn wanted to find him.

He stalked through a door into the big front room, the only space he'd yet to search. 

And locked eyes across the room with the young woman he'd mistaken for Sydney the day before. Damn, she looked just like Syd, but…those eyes! Even across the room, it was like looking in the mirror.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah started when she caught the gaze of the man walking into the room. His eyes turned wary, and she thought that she'd seen those same eyes in the mirror that morning, wary, but these eyes were hard and cynical where hers had been soft and hopeful.

Finally, a crease appeared between the man's eyebrows and he began to stalk toward her. She cautiously took a few steps in his direction, aware of the sudden blaze of fry in the eyes she'd yet to look away from.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded in a harsh whisper that told her he wanted to shout it.

"My name is Leah Bristow," she said slowly, extending a hand and never taking her gaze from his revealing eyes. Did hers reveal as much about her? "You must be…is your name Michael?"

Vaughn had a sudden compulsion to hug her, but recalled having seen him in front of the bank. Who knew if SD-6 was pulling some stunt? Instead, he wrapped a hand roughly around her upper arm and silently began to pull her toward his office.

"Hey!" she said, keeping her voice low and angling her elbow into his ribs so that he released her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You are coming to my office with me, and you're going to tell me who you are," Vaughn said steadily.

Leah's eyes flashed dangerously. "I told you who the hell I am. I believe it's your turn to tell me who the hell you _think_ you are, dragging me back to your office without so much as answering my simple question!" Leah's voice had risen on each word high enough to attract the attention of some people nearby.

Vaughn stepped close enough that Leah had to look up to see his face, and said softly, "You are coming to my office with me. You can come willingly, and we can carry on a civilized conversation, of I'll carry you kicking and screaming, and I'll put you in restraints when we get there." The look in his eyes said he was in the mood for a fight.

__

So I'll humor him, Leah thought, turning as if to walk off.

When he grabbed her arm, she threw up her elbow and caught him in the mouth hard enough to throw him off balance, then swung around a kick to his shoulder that sent him sprawling.

Everyone in the room stopped to stare, Weiss among them, Vaughn noted with regret. He figured Weiss would have burst out laughing if he hadn't seen the girl. Oh, yeah, Weiss knew who she was.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yay! Go Leah! Cool, huh? Leah is, after all, Sydney's child. She has to show everybody she kicks ass too. That, if nothing else, should convince Vaughn of her identity! And besides, Vaughn getting whipped by his daughter is just too funny to pass up!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Syd and Vaughn are not mine. So don't sue me. You wouldn't get much from a high school freshman anyway; I currently have about 12 bucks to my name.

A/N: Hey, Darrel Doomvomit, Leah only beat him because she had the element of surprise. I mean, big intimidating CIA agent, little girl? He figured she was young and _way _more naïve than she is. Which develops later…

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Uh, it's okay, she's with me," Vaughn said to the room in general from his spot on the floor.

Leah had a self-satisfied smirk across her pretty face.

"Okay, I could go for the civilized option now. I know I can kick your ass if you get out of line," Leah said, keeping her voice dangerously low and putting her hand out to help him to his feet.

To her surprise, he took it.

"Hey, uh, you two know each other?" another man asked, walking up.

"Not well. We just met," Vaughn said to him. "You greet everybody that way?" he asked Leah.

"Only men who insist on being ass holes," Leah quipped.

Vaughn shook his head and grinned.

"Why don't we move this to my office, before one of the desk girls has security throw us out?" Vaughn suggested.

"Fine by me," Leah said by a shrug.

"I can come, right?" the other guy asked. "I didn't really doubt it when I saw her, but the only woman that'd teach her daughter something like that is…"

"Shut up, Weiss," Vaughn said quietly. "You can come, so I can keep an eye on you and gossip at a minimum."

Vaughn led the way into his private office and closed the door firmly behind them, obviously a sign to lower agents to stay away.

"All right," he said to Leah, ignoring Weiss. "Who are you?"

"I see your manners have improved slightly, but I still already answered that question. Answer mine," Leah demanded.

Weiss stood in a corner and noted that the two circled each other in the small space like wolves, each looking for their opponent's weak spot.

"I don't want a name. That doesn't answer my question," Vaughn argued.

"Funny. All _I_ want is a name," Leah said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You're at a disadvantage here, girl. You're not getting a damn answer to one question until you answer mine."

"I came looking for you for answers. I could just as easily walk away without them, and without you getting any either. Looks like I'm on top here."

"How long you think you could evade the CIA? You're what, twenty?"

Leah shook her head pointedly. "Not until you answer my question, jackass," she retorted.

"Restraints are still an option, kid. And inquiries so tough the Spanish Inquisition looks like 20 Questions."

"Like you could just pop restraints on me. You need another demonstration? Didn't you get it the first time you landed on your ass?"

They were still circling, and going nowhere that Weiss could see. _What harm could giving her a name do? _Weiss wondered. She couldn't be anybody _but_ Syd's kid, and those eyes raised some clues as to her father. Two sets of those eyes were showing their owners had dug in their heels deeper than any donkey could ever boast.

"Hey, kid," Weiss said, stepping in the middle of them. "You want his name, and you'll tell us who you are?"

"In a second. If you're telling the truth," she added in Vaughn's direction.

"Eric, don't you dare," Vaughn growled.

Weiss never blinked. "His name is Michael Vaughn. Not that you care, but I'm Eric Weiss."

The similarity in Leah's eyes to a time bomb diffused the instant she heard Vaughn's name.

"So," she said with the air of someone whose entire universe had just shifted from under her feet. "My father is an ass hole." She never dropped her eyes from Vaughn's.

__

She's got Sydney's I'm-gonna-prove-you-wrong attitude, Vaughn thought before he could stop himself.

"_Who are you?_" he whispered.

"I could leave…" Weiss said, inching toward the door.

"Stay!" Vaughn and Leah commanded, their eyes never wavering.

Leah inhaled a sharp breath.

"My mother is Sydney Bristow."

"Your momma has no clue where you are," Vaughn said.

Leah shook her head. "On the contrary, I imagine she knows exactly where I am. She just couldn't catch me."

"Leah…" Vaughn paused, as if absorbing her name. "How old are you? You can't be twenty."

"Eighteen, as of three days ago."

"Did…did Sydney tell you I was your father?"

"Really, I should…" Weiss tried again.

"Stay!" Leah and Vaughn shouted.

"On my birthday," Leah started softly. "I convinced my mother to tell me about you. She…she'd never told me _anything_ about you. And she told me you had both been CIA, and your name was Michael. And that you only spent one night together and when she found out she was pregnant she got scared, and left."

Suddenly, Vaughn remembered seeing her outside the bank. Fear filled his lungs, and he couldn't breathe.

"Leah, you were outside the bank."

Leah looked confused. "Yeah, I thought it looked nice…"

"Damn, Leah! God…your mother only told you about the CIA, not SD-6?"

"SD-6? What…"

"Damn! Leah, before Sydney worked here, SD-6 recruited her. They claimed to be a secret branch of the CIA, but…she found out they weren't. She was a double agent, she fed the CIA information about SD-6. Then she disappeared. That bank…it's SD-6's headquarters. There's security everywhere. Damn…" Vaughn began to pace.

Leah's face had gone pale.

"Someone was following me this morning," she squeaked.

"What!" Vaughn cried. "And you led them here?!?"

"No!" Vaughn's hands were on her shoulders, shaking her. She pulled loose and stepped back. "No. I lost them." Her voice we brave, but her hands trembled and her eyes were wide.

"I should just…" Weiss said.

"Shut up, damn you!" Leah shouted before Vaughn could even say anything.

Weiss blinked and took a step further back into the office.

"Okay, okay," he muttered.

"What does this mean?" Leah asked Vaughn.

"For now, it means you're staying within these walls. Can you get a hold of your mother?"

"I have her cell number." 

"Good." 

"I have a suitcase in my car, if I have to stay here…"

"Too bad. It stays there." Vaughn handed a phone to her. "Call Sydney," he ordered.

Leah tried, but the operator said there was no signal.

"She's out of the network," Leah said. "It only covers the southeast." She seemed crushed, then Vaughn saw her eyes light up like you'd see a light bulb over a character's head in a bad cartoon. "Jeff! I can call Jeff! He's been talking to Mom, I know he has! She'll call him!"

Vaughn frowned, jealousy tugging at him painfully. 

"Who's Jeff?"

"He's my boyfriend, but I'm pretty sure he been reporting to my mother…"

"_Your_ boyfriend! Of course. Sure, call him. Tell him to give Sydney this number if she calls…" Vaughn said, jotting down his cell number.

Leah moved to dial, then froze and wilted before Vaughn's eyes.

"How much trouble am I in? How much is Mom in" Leah asked, lowering the phone to its cradle and trying to hid e the fact that her hands shook. She looked down to hide the tears pooling in her eyes.

Weiss darted silently from the room.

"To be honest, I think your mom's in bigger trouble than you right now," Vaughn said gently.

Leah sank into a chair and studied her hands, but her shoulders began to shake, betraying her.

Vaughn awkwardly sat in the chair next to her and put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. After a tense moment, she turned and rested her head on Vaughn's shoulder.

"It'll be okay." It had to be okay. "Your mom can take care of herself." And she had to make it to LA. Vaughn couldn't handle loosing her again without ever having _seen_ her again, or being left with his stranger of a daughter who was a carbon copy of her mother.

"Leah," he said gently when she quieted. "You should call Jeff or you might risk missing your mother."

"Okay." Leah straightened and smiled sadly.

"There's someone else here you should meet. Go ahead and make your call. I'll be right back." he patted her back and left her alone.

Jack wasn't hard to find. Word of Leah's unusual appearance had traveled fast, and a couple of people who'd known Sydney had seen her, too. Jack had made himself highly visible.

"Director," Vaughn said curtly.

Jack had gotten out of SD-6 after Sydney had disappeared. The heat had been too much to risk. He'd advanced in rank quickly once his full focus had been on the CIA.

"Agent Vaughn. I understand you have an interesting woman in your office right now," Jack said questioningly.

"You could say that. Sent me sprawling on the floor, and it wasn't just er looks, though that alone floored me."

"Perhaps I should see about her."

"I think you should."

Jack said nothing when Vaughn opened his office door. Leah still sat in the chair facing the wall, and she didn't turn around.

"Jeff was upset when I suggested he'd been talking to Mom. I gave him the number and told him to give it to her if she called, because I hadn't been able to reach her cell."

"Leah, this is Director Jack Bristow," Vaughn said.

Leah's head snapped up and around, her eyes boring into Jack with an expression Jack figured she'd probably inherited from him.

"Sydney's father," Jack said, trying not to allow his voice to carry the same hard tone he usually used and succeeding only slightly.

"My grandfather," Leah said warily. With a glance at Vaughn she said, "What, you're not going to try to drag me off someplace without telling me anything? I thought that was a family custom."

Jack shot Vaughn a look.

"Like you wouldn't have done the same to the saucy little brat. At least you knew she existed. It explains why even Weiss has a better office than me, though," Vaughn accused.

"I knew there was a child. I have only talked to Sydney a few times since she left, and she wouldn't have appreciated me hunting her down." Jack defended. "Which is what you would have done."

Leah stood and crossed her arms, facing the men.

"Are there any more relatives I should know about?" she asked. Apparently she'd gotten back her equilibrium after having lost it for a few minutes.

Jack glanced at Vaughn, then back at Leah.

"I guess I should consider that a more affectionate greeting than he got," Jack commented.

"Gee, I was being so nice, coming to let _him_ know I existed, and he greets me with 'Who the hell are you.' What else could I do? He needed to be brought down a notch or two, threatening to drag--or was it carry?--me kicking and screaming," Leah said sarcastically.

When the men just stared, Leah sneered. "Nice meeting you, boys, but I've got to go find my mother."

with that, Leah took off past them at a sprint. Those idiots hadn't made one move to find her mother. They may be family, but she wouldn't trust them near as far as she could throw them.

Vaughn ran after her, thinking he was too old to be doing this. Jack was right behind him, thinking he'd been too old for this about ten years ago.

Leah sprinted all the way to the parking lot, putting considerable distance between herself and Jack and Vaughn. They reached the parking lot just in time to see a dart embed itself in Leah's neck, and her crumple to the ground. A couple of men in a nearby van jumped out and dragged her into it.

Neither of them were anywhere near the van as it disappeared into traffic.

All Vaughn could think was SD-6 had his daughter. SD-6 had the only piece of Sydney he'd come near in nineteen years.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hehehe. _Now_ it gets interesting! Thanks for all the great reviews, guys, but I have just one request. Can you try to make them longer than 5 words? May be include a little useful critique? Please?


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I'm not going to try to claim all of it. Just the characters you can't recognize!

A/N: I find it necessary to respond to a few of the reviews I got:

CallistoRevo: For the sake of this story, assume all SD-6 operatives are still working with SD-6. But I promise not to bring Dixon into the mess I'm creating.

Somewhere outthere: I don't respond to threats. I get 'em all the time! Hehe. Lots'a people don't like me…

Natalie: Thank you! Finally, someone completely ignored the implausibility factor to see the humor of it!!! Of course Vaughn being taken completely off guard is _unlikely_, but it's also _funny,_ people!

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney came very close to throwing her cell phone out the window of her newly repaired car when she discovered it didn't work. 

"Damn it!" she screeched. What _else_ could go wrong between here and LA?

Against her better judgment, she stopped at the first gas station she saw with pay phones and called Jeff.

"Leah's in LA. She knows I've been telling you everything she said, somehow. She said she'd tried to call you, but couldn't reach you, so she wanted me to pass on a number to you. She wants you to call her," Jeff reported miserably.

"Was she furious?" Sydney wondered.

"Not until I denied it. She seemed almost relieved at first at having a way to reach you," Jeff admitted.

"Thanks, Jeff."

Sydney hung up and quickly dialed the number he'd given her.

"Hello?"

The voice was enough to melt every bone in Sydney's body.

"I'm sorry," she said, finding her voice husky with memory. "I must have dialed a wrong number. I was trying to reach my daughter."

"Sydney?"

Oh, damn it, it _was_ his voice. What had her daughter cooked up?

"Vaughn."

"Sydney, Leah's gone. I think SD-6 identified her. She looks so much like you…Where are you?" Vaughn asked.

"Nevada. If I drive like a bat out of hell, I can be there in an hour and a half." 

"Get here in one piece, Syd. We'll find Leah. Then, or may be before, we'll talk about why I just met my daughter." Vaughn's voice had a definite edge to it.

Sydney decided to save the apology until they were face to face.

"I'm coming."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah bit her lip against the moan that rose in her throat.

Her whole body felt heavy. Although she figured anyone watching would already know she was coming around, she could stall until she was more alert. The longer she gave whatever drug she'd been given to wear off before she faced potential captors the better.

Within minutes, the heavy fog that seemed to encompass her body lifted.

Feet shuffled a few feet away.

"Mmm…" Leah mumbled. "I thought I lost that tail."

She heard a surprised shuffling in response, and someone was standing over her.

"Mmm," she moaned pitifully again.

She felt the hand on her neck, feeling her pulse, and that was all she needed to gauge the location of the face. She swung her elbow and opened her eyes at the same time. Her elbow hit just above the man's eye, hard enough to make hit see stars, she judged.

Her mother had gone above and beyond amateur karate classes. Sydney had taught Leah past what local classes had offered, and Leah knew karate wasn't the only martial art form Sydney had taught her concepts from. For the first time since she'd started lessons at seven years old, Leah could have dropped to her knees and worshiped her mother for insisting she pursue the hobby to the fullest extent.

Leah jumped up as the guy fell backwards, but he got up too. She had managed to catch him off guard enough that she could place a well-aimed kick to send him hurtling back against the wall of the dimly lit little room, with enough force to snap his head back into the wall and probably make him see stars again. Before he had a chance to recover himself again, Leah smashed her elbow into the side of his head. He slumped to the floor.

Leah panted, out of breath and her heart racing from the brief encounter. She began to search for means of escape.

The room was empty, and the only window small and high. But Leah was tall and very skinny. If she could just get it open, Leah was pretty sure she could get out.

She searched her guard for anything that might be useful. She found a loaded handgun, and didn't think twice before checking the safety and tucking it into the pocket of her jean shorts. The man didn't have a wallet, but she took the loose change she found in his pocket.

The window was the type of window you'd find in a basement, one that swung inward to open. There was a thin cement ledge under it; just enough that Leah thought she could hold on long enough to swing open the window.

Leah stepped back to the opposite wall--nearly four steps--and got up some momentum to jump. The first time, her fingers slipped from the ledge before she could grab at the window. The second time, she missed the latch on the window and slipped. On the third try, the window swung in.

Within five minutes, she'd managed to pull her self up enough to see outside. There was nothing but an empty alley above. At least she wouldn't have to drop to the ground from the window.

She dropped down again and moved back for a running start. Leah just managed to haul herself up and out, rapping her head on the top edge of the window in the process.

Once free of the window, Leah ran. She ran up the alley. She ran through an overgrown lot at the end of the alley. She ran up a dark street of a town that had gone quiet with the sun. She ran until she came up on a quiet housing development, where, thinking of nothing but a quiet, hidden place to think, she ducked into a child's playhouse.

__

Have they missed me yet? Leah wondered as she waited for her heart to stop racing.

Crouching in her hiding place, Leah wondered what she could do. She didn't know where she was, she had no money save…she counted quickly…seventy-six cents, and that wouldn't even get her much time on a pay phone if she were willing to risk it. And she had killers after her. Michael Vaughn hadn't come right out and said it, but she knew it was what he'd meant. What would her mother do?

"Ha," Leah muttered under her breath. The face of Sydney Bristow she knew was the sweet high school teacher, not the die-hard CIA agent.

It was cooler outside, even in summer, she realized. So she wasn't still in the south, where even the nights were humid and heavy. Having spent her entire life in Georgia, she had no way of even guessing where she was. The furthest she and Sydney had ever traveled was Orlando, Florida, when she'd been ten.

Leah shivered, and rubbed the bare skin of her arms and legs. Time to start thinking of a way out of her current predicament. Slipping silently from the tiny playhouse, she gazed up the street. Most of the houses had porch lights on, and cars in the drive, and the one dark, carless house caught her attention. Careful not to appear out of place, Leah walked up the street to the house. She felt along the ledge over the door, checked under the welcome mat and in the loose topsoil of a potted plant. Leah stopped and put her hands on her hips, thinking.

The nest-door neighbor's front door opened and an older woman stepped out.

"Hey! Girl!" she called to Leah. "What are you up to? Angie didn't mention going' off anywhere, and you don't look familiar."

Leah saw a small cat jump up into the between curtains that weren't quite closed.

"My family just moved in a few blocks away," Leah called back. She left on short notice, and called to ask me to feed her cat, but I can't remember where she said she left the spare key." 

"Taped under that window ledge there!" the neighbor called. "Youngins these days…don't pay no attention to nothing' " Leah heard her mutter as she went back inside.

Leah grinned, ecstatic. It had worked! But now that she'd been seen she'd have t work fast.

She first went to the phone and dialed the number she'd given to Jeff, and to her relief her father's cell phone rang. 

"Vaughn."

"It's me. I don't have long. I can't talk. Can you trace this number?"

"Give me three minutes."

"Good. I'll leave the phone off the hook until I get ready to leave. I'll get in touch again later." Leah's voice was a harsh whisper, but the panic one would expect was absent. She laid down the phone.

Her next task was to find warmer clothes. She suspected the resident of the house was as old as her neighbor, so Leah was surprised to find a closet full of clothes that were not only close to her size, but close to her style, too. Leah grabbed a dark gray wind suit, pulling the pants on over her shorts and zipping the jacket up to her neck.

Allowing herself a small grin, she did feed the cat a scoop of the cat food sitting beside his bowl since he followed her around meowing.

All of it had taken her just under three minutes. She picked up the phone.

"Got it?" she asked.

"Got it," her father's voice responded.

"I'm gone."

"Leah!" she heard him yell as she hung up the phone.

****

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Hehe. Leah's one smart cookie, huh? I'm really enjoying this story myself. I like Leah. And before you comment on the unrealistic-ness of this chapter, just stay tuned. There's more to it than you see.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: No! I won't say it. You can't make me. Ow! Okay! Alias isn't mine. 

CallistoRevo: I gotta love my fan base! I hate to tell you, but it isn't going to be _nearly_ as S/V as I'd like. I mean, it's there, but it sorta takes a backseat. This story has a mind of its own…

Erin: An honest critique! Thanks! And Vaughn is just suspicious. I mean, Syd disappeared completely a long time ago, so he's just being cautious. And Leah's just…well, you'll see. She's not meant to be a brat, I promise!

Lady Prongs of Rohan: I only have one word for you. SARCASM! Oh, well, I guess that's what I get for a sarcastic comment in the first place…

Largemarge416: No, no! She just has a quick temper! She's not really that bad…Give her a chance!

Windystar47: Hey, it's set a long time after the show…I couldn't keep them completely in character and still follow the same plot!

A/N: Geez…you guys are great about reviewing, but _must_ you attack my characters??? Go after me or something…they're defenseless! lol

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney stood wide-eyed in a corner of Vaughn's office. He'd barely spared her a glance after he'd told her what had happened, he'd been so busy. Being in the CIA building and having explicit instructions, issued by both her father and Vaughn, not to leave the office was driving her insane.

Her daughter had been kidnapped by SD-6, damn it! She should be able to do _something_!

Of course, Sydney had taken precautions with Leah, but how was she to know if any of it had worked? Leah had taken to martial arts like a duck to water, but that didn't mean…

"Sydney, good news," Vaughn walked in, giving her a look she couldn't read. "Leah called."

"Oh!" Sydney rang her hands nervously in a completely uncharacteristic gesture. "Is she okay? Did she get away from them? Did you trace the call? Where is she? What did she say? Oh, my baby…"

Vaughn was still looking at her strangely, but his mouth twitched.

"We traced the call to a suburb in Arizona. Apparently, she's okay. She didn't seem nearly as hysterical as your average eighteen year old girl who's been kidnapped by and somehow escaped form a criminal organization in the last six hours." His voice held an obvious accusation.

Guilt assailed Sydney. "Well, she's trained in martial arts…" But she dropped her eyes.

"What did you do to her Sydney?" Vaughn asked harshly, his voice low and threatening.

Sydney hung her head and when she'd gathered the courage to speak it was in a barely audible tone.

"It was a modified version of Project Christmas, geared toward self-preservation."

"What?!?" Vaughn exploded.

Sydney held up a hand.

"I was a fugitive, both from SD-6 and from the CIA. I wanted my daughter to be able to survive if this ever happened. I've worked against it from the say she was born. The version of the Project I used only programmed her to survive, to be able to think even while she feared for her life. I don't know if that worked, or had any effect at all. I never used the memory erasing process, but the only times I helped her learn was during her karate classes, as a child. When she was older and I was working with her on that skill, I would tell her stories that contained information she might someday need. Or I'd casually start a conversation on something like tracing a phone call. Stuff she'd need to remember if she was ever in this situation.. I was only teaching her to survive! I wanted her to be able to get away…" Feeling like an idiot, she dissolved into tears.

Vaughn made no move to comfort her, but took a deep breath to keep the angry words he wanted to shout in check.

"You were devastated when you learned what your father had done to you. Why would you turn around and do the same thing?" he pointed out carefully.

Shakily, Sydney said, "I understand a little more now why he did it. I still hate that he took away my choices, but I understand. I haven't taken away Leah's choices. She'll only survive, Vaughn. It won't be a way of life for her. I can promise you that." She looked up at him defiantly.

His resolve melted. As long as she'd looked guilty, or nervous, or out of place, he'd been okay because that hadn't been his Sydney. But her defiant, kiss-my-ass expression was too reminiscent of his Sydney for him not to react.

Vaughn grinned and stepped close to her. When she looked up at him with surprise in her eyes, he kissed her forehead lightly and let his hands rest on her shoulders.

"Damn it, Syd, I should be furious with you," he whispered. "You took my child from me, took away seeing her grow up. But I still feel the same way I did that night we spent together." 

Sydney leaned into him and choked back a sob.

"I'm so scared, Vaughn," Sydney murmured against his shoulder. "She's been all I've had for so long…"

Vaughn shifted to wrap his arms around her waist.

"I would have helped you, Syd. We could have gone away _together_. I'd have done anything you wanted if I'd known."

"I thought what I was doing was best…"

"Ahem."

Sydney and Vaughn parted quickly, although reluctantly.

"Uh, Dad, hi," Sydney said.

Jack didn't respond immediately.

"There's a team leaving for Arizona in one hour," he finally said, looking at Sydney. "I've cleared it for you to go, too, since you've been officially listed as MIA. Keep an eye on her, Agent Vaughn," Jack added with a hint of a smile.

Sydney's face fell, and she felt the fear she'd thought she'd mastered a long time ago threaten to overwhelm her.

"Syd?" Vaughn said after Jack left, rubbing her arms gently. "It'll be okay. We'll find her."

Sydney shook her head. "It won't be that easy. She's afraid to be found."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff paced. Around the living room. Through the kitchen. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. Onto the back porch. And the phone still didn't ring.

Leah had just called that same afternoon. She probably wouldn't call again, Jeff rationalized.

Yet he still paced, hoping she would. Something just wasn't right, and Jeff feared he'd pace himself to death if he didn't hear from his girlfriend soon.

Then it hit him: he had the number Leah had given him so her mother could reach her. He could call her, too! He could hear her voice, and set his mind at rest. Of course Leah was fine. Nothing could happen to Leah.

Jeff hastily dialed the number and walked out onto the back porch with the cordless phone.

"Hello?" a clipped, male voice answered.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I think I must have dialed a wrong number," Jeff stuttered. Only he hadn't. "I was, uh, trying to call my…Leah Bristow."

There was along pause, but there was more than enough background noise to tell Jeff the man hadn't hung up.

"I, uh, guess I dialed a wrong number," Jeff repeated.

"No! Uh, no, this is the number Leah gave you," the man said quickly. "Jeff, right?"

"Yeah, who are you?"

"Michael Vaughn," the man sighed. "Leah's father."

Jeff gasped, but quickly recovered.

"UH, can I talk to Lee?" he asked.

There was another awkward pause.

"May be you should talk to Sydney, "Vaughn said softly. "Syd! Her boyfriend's on the phone!" Jeff heard him hiss. There was some reply, then, "What the hell am _I _ supposed to say to him?" Vaughn sighed. "There's been a…situation," he told Jeff.

Jeff stomach did a flip, and his heart leapt into his throat.

"What kind of a situation?" His hands shook.

"Leah was kidnapped, but we know she was okay as of two hours ago," Vaughn began.

"What?!?!?" Jeff screeched.

"She got away, and called me…"

"How the hell did that happen?!? Why would anyone want Leah?!?"

Vaughn put his hand over the phone and spoke to Sydney, then handed her the phone.

"Jeff, there's a lot you don't know, so just listen, okay?" Sydney ordered.

"But Ms. Bristow…"

"Jeff, just listen," she snapped, already at the end of her short patience. "I didn't just work for the government, I was CIA. A double agent, acting as a mole inside an agency called…well, never mind. They still exist, and security section recognized Leah. When I got pregnant, I ran, so they saw her as a link to a missing agent they'd never confirmed as dead. They had her, but she got away and called. The call was traced, and Vaughn and I are on a plane to search for her. Jeff, I know you're worried about her, but that's all you need to know. I promise I'll call you the second I know anything. I have to go."

"But…wait!" Jeff pleaded, and very nearly threw the phone to the wooden planking of the deck when he heard the dial tone. "Damn it!" he snarled, thankful his parents were out for the evening.

So much for his call having a calming effect. He'd have been better off pacing all night!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sorry it was such a short chapter, but there was a lot in it. That was about all I figured ya'll could handle for now. Now, no threats, please. I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of days, I promise!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Okay, so it isn't mine. I don't have to develop most of theses characters' personalities, so my writing is a lot better here than it is when I'm responsible for their personalities.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up! I've been so swamped with school stuff! Two Lit projects, a world geography project, and I was at school until 6:30 last night! These teachers trying to kill me! And I have softball practice tomorrow! Err…Hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor…I'm going to do something other than homework or typing now…

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah huddles in the bushes, hardly daring to breath as the car with darkly tinted windows drove slowly past, undoubtedly looking for her. It was the tenth car she'd seen since leaving the house she'd stolen her clothes from the night before, in which she hadn't slept a wink. This time, she'd barely hidden herself before the car had turned the corner.

She was tired, but she was too scared to stay in one place long enough to fall asleep. If she didn't come up with a plan soon, she'd fall asleep standing up, and they'd find her. She wouldn't go back to wherever they'd had her. She'd die first, because she had no doubt they'd hurt her. So she just couldn't sleep.

As she sat in the bushes, her eyes gradually drooped closed and her chin dropped to her chest. And she awoke with a start and leapt to her feet.

"Damn," she whispered. "What am I gonna do?"

Leah realized she had to find somewhere to spend the night. There was no way she could keep on as she was. Standing on a hill among a copse of trees, she could see the layout of an entire neighborhood. _Must be the only hill for miles_, she thought. Then she grinned, as a plan formed in her mind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kyla Smith was finishing up the dinner dishes when the doorbell rang.

"Mom? Kenny? Could someone get that? Ugh!" she muttered, drying her hands on a towel when both her mother and brother yelled they were busy upstairs.

She glances out the window to see a girl, near her own age but unfamiliar, smiling nervously and shifting form foot to foot.

"Hi," Kyla said, opening the door. "Can I help you?"

The other girl's face fell into a confused frown.

"I'm…I'm sorry…there must be some mistake. This is 1515 Westlink, right?" the girls asked, a crease forming between her bright green eyes.

"Yes." Kyla nodded.

"Oh. Oh, no." The girl studied her feet and turned away as if to leave.

"Obviously there's been some kind of mix up. Come on in and I'll see if I can help. You're not from around here, are you?" Kyla asked, opening the door wide and stepping back.

"No. I don't know what I'm going to do. My cousins…Well, my parents are gone, and I wrote to my cousins, and they wrote back giving me this address and saying they'd be happy to let me live with them while I finish high school."

"You could call them. Do you have a phone number?"

"No. Just the address." She shook her head. "I've been horribly rude, barging into your house without introducing myself. I'm Leah…Patterson." She held out her hand.

"Kyla Smith. You have no way to contact your cousins?"

"None. Looks like my only option is to crash with my grandparents, but they're a four hour bus ride away," Leah said, moving back toward the door. "I'm beat. I should go find a place to stay the night."

"Hey, hold up. I'm sure my mom won't mind if you sleep here, considering your predicament. Just a sec."

Kyla bolted up the stairs, and Leah grinned. It had actually worked! And may be she could use the pretext of calling her grandparents to contact her father again so the could meet tomorrow.

She forced her face to hold the same nervous, slightly hopeful look it had when Kyla left when she appeared at the base of the stairs.

"Come on, I'll show you our spare room," Kyla said happily. "You must be what, sixteen, seventeen?"

Leah smiled. "About."

"I'll let you get settled. The bathroom's just across the hall, if you want to take a shower or whatever. Oh, I forgot, do you want to call your grandparents first?"

"I can call them in the morning, if that's okay. It's a little late, and I'd hate to wake them up." In reality, Leah was too tired to deal with her mother and father coherently. And she didn't want to drag this family into her mess by having the call traced."

"That's cool. Hey, Mom, are you gonna come meet her or what?" Kyla yelled down the hall.

A friendly looking woman came out of a room smiling.

"Kyla, must you shout in the house?" she asked tolerantly. "Hi, Leah, is it? I can't believe anyone would leave such a pretty young girl on her own like that. And giving you the wrong address! Why, you can't be a day older than my Kyla. I'd never dream of leaving her on her own, and you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"She's sixteen, Mom," Kyla inserted.

"Thank you very much," Leah replied. "But I can promise to be out of your way in the morning. I hate to inconvenience you." That was true enough.

"I could never allow you to have to fend for yourself when I can do something to help out. You just make yourself at home. Why don't you take a quick shower and get some sleep? You look exhausted."

"Um, thanks, I think," Leah laughed. "I'll do that. Thanks so much for letting me stay here."

"No problem," Kyla said. "Mom'll just make me cook breakfast in the morning. You like pancakes?"

"Sure, but you don't have to…"

"Nonsense!" Kyla's mother called from halfway down the stairs. "You'll eat your share and like it!"

"She means well," Kyla laughed. "Go ahead and make yourself at home."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Vaughn, I want my little girl," Sydney mumbled softly from her seat on the cheap motel bed. 

They both had been prepared to search the little Arizona suburb all night, even though--or may be _because_--Leah hadn't contacted them all day. They were only there now because Weiss had threatened to tranquilize them both and drag them to a room if the refused to go under their own steam.

At the sound of despair in Sydney's voice, Vaughn crossed the room and sat next to her. He hesitated, then put his arm around her shoulders. He played with her hair, brushing it back from her forehead with his free hand.

"We'll find her, Syd. Now that she's escaped, she'll figure out how to hide," Vaughn comforted.

"But she'll be hidden from us too. If she doesn't call, we'll stand no better chance of finding her than they will," Sydney argued quietly, no fire behind her words.

"We should get some sleep," Vaughn suggested. "So we'll be alert tomorrow."

"I'll never sleep knowing Leah's God knows where," Sydney protested.

"Just close your eyes." He pulled her back onto the bed, pillowing her head against his shoulder.

The next thing either of them knew, a shrill ringing was slicing through the crisp morning air.

Sydney stretched to snatch up the phone by the bed and answered it before she realized it was Vaughn's cell phone that was ringing, and by then he'd answered it.

"It's me, Leah," her voice said with a tinge of nervousness that worried Vaughn.

"God, Leah, where are you? I…hold on, let me trace this…"

"Yeah, good to talk to you too. Listen, Grandpa, there's been a mistake…"

"Leah? What the hell…oh." Vaughn realized belatedly that someone was listening and she was supposedly talking to someone other than him. He heard a door close in the background.

"Look, go ahead and trace this call, but I'm not going to be here. I will not involve this family in this mess. I'll call you back later, after I find a safe place to meet you. I can explain more later. Got the trace?"

Vaughn was shocked by the fearless, no nonsense tone. "Uh, yeah," he said after a moment. "The trace is solid. But wait just a second…"

"Then I have to go." Then Leah raised her voice. "Thanks a lot, Grandpa. I'll see you tonight."

"Oh, damn, that girl is without a doubt your child," Vaughn snapped at Sydney.

"What does that mean?!?" she snapped back, trying to smooth her rumpled clothes and hair as she stood.

"I traced the damn call, but she refuses to stay put unitl we come get her!"

"And how does that prove her my child?" Sydney asked sarcastically.

"Stubborn as hell," Vaughn muttered.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hehe! Don't ya just love S/V banter? Of course, I can't have the banter without the cute falling asleep together scene, but there's nothing wrong with that!


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: If it were mine, I wouldn't make anyone wait THREE STINKIN' WEEKS for the finale…

A/N: I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! Sorry I haven't gotten around to writing the promised Lauren-gets-killed-by-Sark fic, but I'll work on it today, I promise!

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah's newfound friends insisted on driving her to the bus station after a breakfast that had consisted of more food than Leah had been able to eat. And the boy, Kenny, he'd asked for seconds! But at least she'd timed it so that they'd pulled out of the driveway less than five minutes after she'd called her father. Surely that wasn't enough time for the CIA to organize…whatever an organization so important they were known by an acronym would call attempts to find her.

"Now, you're sure your grandparents don't have a problem with you coming to them?" Kyla's mother asked. "You can stay with us until you figure something else out, if you need to."

"Yeah!" Kenny said, bouncing enthusiastically in the front seat of the SUV. "You can stay! You're way cooler than Kyla!" For good measure, he stuck his tongue out at his sister.

With a cool look, Kyla said, "I'm far too mature for such childish antics." But when Kenny turned around to look out the front windshield again, she grinned and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Hey!" 

"That, however, I've yet to outgrow."

Kenny made a face and flicked a balled up gum wrapper at Kyla, but it hit Leah instead. She just laughed.

"As much fun as I think it would be to stay here, I need to be with family," she said, a longing to see her mother giving her smile a pasted on look.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney sighed as Vaughn stopped their CIA issue car in front of the mouse the trace had indicated.

"She's not here," Sydney said hopelessly.

"I know," Vaughn agreed.

"So why not let someone else follow up on this?"

"Because we may need you."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Vaughn knocked on the door before she could argue, and a boy of about eight answered it.

"You look like Leah," he said instantly, staring at Sydney.

"Who is it, Kenny?" a girl called from inside the house.

"A guy and some lady who looks like Leah!"

The girl that had called appeared in the doorway behind the boy, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Are you Leah's cousins?" she asked angrily.

Sydney smiled charmingly, suddenly seeing why Vaughn thought they'd need her presence. People could see her relation to Leah. "No, we're not. Can we come in for a few minutes? And is your mother here?"

The girl leaned down and spoke quietly to her brother, and he took off upstairs.

"My brother will bring my mother," she said, stepping back to let them in. "Who are you, if you're not her cousins?" She looked more closely at Vaughn. "You're both related to her," she added.

"I'm her mother," Sydney said softly.

She'd been leading them into the living room, but at this the girl whirled around, blocking the doorway. Her eyes were blazing and suspicious.

"Leah said her parents had died."

"No," Vaughn spoke for the first time. "We're very much alive." He held up a hand to halt her retort. "We'll explain everything to you and your mother. You're Kyla?"

She eyed them warily. "How do you know my name?" She hissed.

Vaughn shook his head.

"Wait for your mother," Sydney said softly. "And…you may want to hear what we have to say first, then censure what you tell your brother accordingly."

Kyla's eyes widened in confusion, and she stopped her mother at the base of the stairs and sent her brother back up them. She held a hushed conference, glancing constantly at Sydney and Vaughn. Finally, Melissa Smith nodded.

"You are Leah's mother," she said to Sydney. "You couldn't be anyone else. So why did Leah tell us her parents were dead?"

"She was scared," Sydney said carefully. "And alone. She…she didn't want to involve you in this…mess."

"What mess?" Kyla asked.

"We're affiliated with the CIA," Vaughn revealed. "This mess consists of a criminal organization kidnapping our daughter, Leah, because they recognized her relation to her mother. Leah escaped them, and apparently found herself a nice place to sleep after she was sure they didn't know where she was any more. What did she tell you?"

"Is she okay? She's not in trouble now, is she?" Kyla asked worriedly.

Vaughn and Sydney exchanged looks.

"Right now, we don't know where she is. This is the last place we could trace her to," Sydney said, her voice wavering slightly. "I hate to involve you any more then you're already involved, but you may be my only link to my daughter. And I haven't protected her for eighteen years to lose her now," Sydney added in a tightly controlled tone.

"Eighteen?" Kyla said. "She said…well, I guess we just assumed she was only sixteen."

"Look, we'd love to help you people, but we don't know where Leah is any more either," Melissa offered. "I took her to the bus station this morning, but in light of all this my guess is she never went anywhere."

"I hope not," Sydney said. "She promised to call us later today. If there's nothing else, then we'll let you know when we find out anything."

Vaughn moved closer to Sydney and put his arm around her waist.  
  
"I wish I'd known all this a few hours earlier," Melissa said sympathetically. "The thought of not knowing where either of my children were…it's enough to drive a woman mad. Leah was so convincing…"

"It's a survival skill," Vaughn said when Sydney didn't answer. "We'll keep in touch."

Knowing instinctively that Sydney was fast losing her grip on control, Vaughn guided her quickly back to their car. He drove barely two miles in complete silence before he found a secluded dirt road to turn off on.

Turning off the car, he pulled Sydney into a hug.

"We're going to find her, Syd. It'll be okay…" he murmured.

Sydney tired to choke back a sob and failed dismally, then wrapped her arms around him. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly. "I'm so sorry…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah kept the jacket of the jogging suit zipped up, despite the heat. The pants felt plastered to her legs. At least her hair was pulled up off her neck.

She'd found the raggedy baseball cap at the bus station. She'd shuddered to think where is had been as she tucked her hair under it, but her long, burly hair would have been a dead giveaway to anyone looking for her.

She needed to find a safe place to call her father from, but first she needed to have a meeting place in mind.

The small service station with no pay phones outside gave her an idea, and she hurried inside.

"Excuse, me," Leah said to the guy standing behind the single register. "Do you have a phone I can use? My car broke down around the corner, and I was supposed to be home an hour ago. My dad's gonna kill me," she pleaded. And he probably would, but not for being late.

"Sure." The guy handed her a surprisingly new cordless phone.

"Thanks so much. You're a lifesaver," she said, grinning.

He just shrugged. Leah nearly laughed, realizing she couldn't be much to look at in the baseball cap and rumpled gray jogging suit. She hurriedly dialed a number.

"Hell?"

"Hi, Dad." Leah had meant to use the term for the cashier's benefit, but she realized as she said it that it was the most natural thing in the world to say. "I have a problem. I know I was supposed to be home already, but my car broke down."

"God, Leah, you have no idea how relived we are to hear from you," Vaughn sighed. "You're going to stay there until we come get you this time, right?"

"Sure, Dad, I'll stay here. You'll come get me?"

"Yes. You stay there, Leah," he warned.

"I'll watch for you."

Leah thanked the guy again and walked out, settling in a bus stop booth across the street that offered some cover and a clear view of the service station.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney mentally urged the miles to disappear, even as Vaughn fought not to slam the accelerator to the floor. The less attention they drew to themselves and Leah, the better.

But damn it was hard!

Vaughn was so wrapped up in finally getting to Leah that he didn't notice the car tailing him until he'd nearly led them right to Leah. He took the next turn so fast that Sydney, caught unaware, gasped and clutched at the seat.

"Vaughn! What…" she gasped, then she saw the car behind them. "We were followed?!? How?!?"

"I don't know," Vaughn muttered. "But we have to lose him. We have to get Leah." 

Sydney paled. "What if they know…" She couldn't finish the thought.

"Get the guns out from under the seat," Vaughn said grimly, leaving unsaid that they were going to need them.

Sydney's hands shook as she clicked the rounds into place.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leah watched the man across the street from the corner of her eye. He was watching her, but he didn't need to know she knew it. He just hoped her mother and father would show up before the guy came after her. She had no choice; if she made a move, she'd give herself away.

Her gaze swept the area around her, looking for anything she could use if he came after her. There wasn't a single thing large enough to have any effect on the well built man.

Deciding quickly, she glanced up and down the street then hurried across. She nodded at the cashier as she entered the store again, and wandered up and down the few aisles, stopping periodically to look at something as if wasting time.

Finally she found what she was looking for: a small display of pocketknives in the back of the store. She slipped one into her pocket just before the bell above the door signaled someone entering. She just glanced dismissively at the man who was so obviously tailing her and went to the front to pay for a thirty cent pack of chewing gum.

Leah didn't like the idea of stealing the knife, but it could be the difference between life and death for her, and no one was likely to miss the three dollar novelty.

Back at the bus stop, Leah watched the door. To her horror, her tail came across the street and sat down next to her on the bench.

__

Get him talking. Make him think he's fooled you. He'll get careless.

The voice seemed to echo in her head, but Leah didn't have time to analyze it. The advice sounded good.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked casually. She was rewarded by his confusion.

"Huh?"

"You don't look like the type of guy to be waiting for a bus in this one horse hell hole of a town," she said, using the conversation as an excuse to turn and look at him. "What brings you here now?"

"I've got family nearby. Flew out, so I don't have my car." He pretended to study her as though he hadn't been paying attention before. "What about you? You look to smart of a girl to get yourself tied down to this place."

Surely he wasn't expecting her to tell him the _truth_?!? Then it hit her. He wasn't sure of her! Well, if he didn't know who she was, she wasn't going to tell him, and if he did know, she'd fix it so he thought she didn't know the information he wanted from her.

"Ran away," she said haughtily. "From my old man up in Washington state. My momma, she was a smart broad. Left him years ago. I ain't heard a word from her in years, hadn't seen her in almost ten. I figure she learned pretty quick after she found herself pregnant that he couldn't stand my daddy. I hightailed it out of his house quick as I could, too." They wanted her mother, so let them think she didn't have a clue where she was. They just might believe she'd run away, gotten caught in LA, then escaped and kept right on like she had before. Then they'd leave her alone.

The man grinned and shook his head, and Leah thought for just a moment that she'd convinced him.

"Unfortuantely, you're still going to have to come tell me more about your dear mother," the man said, moving so that Leah felt the cold muzzle of a gun against her ribs.

Leah's breath caught in her throat.

"Look, mister, I don't know anything!" she said pitifully in a desperate attempt to divert his attention long enough to slip her hand into her back pocket. Let him think she'd fallen to pieces the moment the situation turned bad.

He stood, dragging her with him. Leah took advantage, tripping and hiding the small knife in the palm of her hand, unopened.

"Stop it! Now, you're going to walk away quietly with me, "he ordered. "Or you get some of this led pumped into you. Got it?" he snarled.

"Uh-huh."

He pulled her along the street, but he didn't count on a car careening around the corner on two wheels; it threw him off enough to give Leah the opening she needed. She aimed a kick, sending the gun in his hand flying, and flipped open the two inch pocket knife in one motion.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Argg! Okay, so I know ya'll are going to kill me, but the next chapter will be up soon. I feel obliged to remind you, I greatly enjoy reviews that consist of more that two words. And more than five…I'm ecstatic! Hehe. Ya'll are great…just review a teensy bit more….


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I'm all out of witty remarks for today. Alias isn't mine.

A/N: I have nothing important to say right now. Try me later.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sydney let loose a scream when she saw Leah with some man on the street corner, first one on them holding a gun, then a knife appeared form no where.

"There she is! Oh my God, Vaughn, _there she is_!" Sydney screeched.

Vaughn cut the wheel hard and slammed on the brakes, spinning the car to a stop in the middle of a deserted street.

Sydney was out of the car nearly before it stopped, but a man jumped out of the car that had been following them--which had also screeched to a halt--and intercepted her. Before Sydney had to divert all of her attention to her assailant, she saw the man Leah was struggling with had a long, bloody gash on his forearm. At least that meant Leah had the knife.

Vaughn was retained be the driver of the other car, who fought as well as her tailed, Vaughn thought.

Leah was furious. Her attempted captor tried to knock her down, but got the tip of the knife through his palm instead and let out a howl of pain. Channeling all of the anger and fear into her effort, Leah kicked and caught the side of his head. He crumpled to the gorund and didn't move.

She snatched up his gun, which had flown several yards back up the sidewalk, and raced into the street where her mother was fighting a huge man, probably close to 300 pounds. Leah aimed the gun, barely pausing to consider that if she fired she'd probably kill him, and that the other man could possibly bleed to death from the long gash on his arm.

Sydney ducked a punch and kicked, and the man tumbled backwards onto the hood of his own car; Leah fired while she had a clear shot.

Sydney froze to watch the blood spread over the man's shirt as he lay motionless over the hood of his own car. He was dead; the bullet had caught him dead center of the chest. Finally she spun around to see who the shooter was, and found herself facing Leah, less than three yards away, still holding the handgun out.

"Mom!" Leah gasped, dropping her weapon and lunging at her mother to hug her. "You're okay!"

"I should say the same to you," Sydney cried, holding Leah in a bone crushing hug. 

A grunt reached their ears, followed by sounds of the scuffle nearby.

"Vaughn!" Sydney gasped. "Stay here, Leah!" 

"Not a chance." Leah pulled the knife from her pocket and flipped it open, the blade still red with blood.

"No! Leah, no!" Sydney cried when Leah appeared running beside her.

"Yes," Leah said simply.

They flanked Vaughn, Sydney forcing the air from the tail's lungs with a swift kick to his stomach and Leah driving the knife to the hilt into his shoulder.. He fell, the knife staying in place. He wasn't dead, not by far, but it left them time to escape.

Vaughn stood stunned for a moment, then hurried them toward the car. While he got into the driver's seat, Sydney and Leah climbed into the back. He drove like a maniac, screeching the tired on turned and hitting a hundred miles per hour on the straight-aways. He had them to a local safe house in a mere ten minutes, when it should have taken twenty. None of them had made a single sound. Vaughn hurried them all inside and made a call of his cell phone.

"Weiss, there's a mess of bloody SD-6 operatives at the contact point," he said. "Find Jack, tell him Sydney and Leah are okay."

He hung up without waiting for a reply, then turned and gathered both Sydney and Leah into a tight hug.

"I should kill both of you," he murmured. "For what you put me through."

"God, Leah, don't ever leave me like that again," Sydney muttered.

Suddenly, a flash of images assaulted Leah.

__

She was ten years old again. They were in the basement, she and her mother, sitting on bright blue mats after a karate session. She'd managed to throw her mother twice when they'd gone head to head, even though she suspected her mother had let herself be thrown the first time. But she'd surprised her the second time, Leah thought, smiling as she drank from the plastic bottle of water.

"Anytime you can avoid a fight, do it," Sydney was saying. "If a potential attacker is trying to take you away, get him talking. Make him think he'd fooled you. He'll get careless then, and you'll see his weak spot."

"And then I can beat him, Momma?"

"And then you'll know how to beat him."

Leah slipped free from her parents' grasp and backed away, her eyes wild, with confusion evident.

"Is there something I should know?" she demanded. "Something neither of you has told me?"

"Leah, you're here now, you're safe." Sydney started to hug her again, but Leah moved away.

"No, there's something else. There's something I should know. I remember a conversation we had when I was _ten_," Leah said to Sydney. "Word for word, Mom. I remember that we were sitting in the basement, on the mats, that I'd thrown you twice, I remember what I was _thinking_. And Mom, I remembered what you said when that guy tried to kidnap me again today."

"Honey, children have amazing memories," Sydney said placating.

"Mom, we must have sat just like that a million other times. There was nothing unusual about this one time, but I remember every detail of it." Leah glanced at her father's expression, which only reaffirmed what she thought. "There is something you're not telling me," she accused firmly.

"Tell her, Sydney. The memory…it's probably an effect from the Project," Vaughn said cryptically.

"The Project?"

"Project Christmas," Sydney murmured. "The original was created to…program children to be spies. My…my father used it on me, but that's something for another time. I used a version on you. I was trying to ensure you could survive if SD-6 ever caught up with me," Sydney said. "My father used the program to repress my memory of the training sessions, but I didn't use that on you, Leah. I used a feature to enhance subconscious memory during our sessions in the basement. You really were a natural at karate," she said with a small, hopeful smile.

"You…did you program me to be a spy?"

"No. I did not. I taught you to protect yourself, that's all. In that way, I was protecting you from my enemies."

"So that's how I knew what to do, what to say," Leah said quietly. "You _programmed _me to know."

Sydney considered. "No, I don't think so. Not exactly. I taught you how to react to a threat. You had to know what the right reaction was."

"But you did program me, so it wasn't just me."

"Just like your mother," Vaughn broke in, grinning slightly. "Stubborn as hell, and a tendency to over think things. You're alive, Leah," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Be happy. I don't care if it was you, or your mother, or the Jolly Green Giant, you're alive and safe."

Leah smiled shakily. "You're right. Mom, for whatever you've done, thank you." She hugged her mother.

"We'll be able to get back to our lives soon, baby," Sydney told Leah.

"Whoa, wait," Vaughn jumped in again. "They know about you now. You can't just go back like nothing happened!"

"Sure we can," Sydney said. "I've, uh, tweaked a few records. They can't find us."

"Like hell," Vaughn snapped. "You will _not_ go back like nothing happened. I will not let you disappear from my life again!"

Sydney stared and Leah hid a grin; she had no trouble following Vaughn's train of thought.

"Vaughn, how will we explain…" Sydney started.

"However the hell you want. I'm coming with you."

"We can't just…What?"

"I'm coming with you, Sydney," Vaughn said more softly.

For a moment Sydney just stood in shop, then she melted in the embrace he offered. Leah just grinned.

"We'll get married, and be together like we should have been for nearly nineteen years," Vaughn added quietly.

"How many bedrooms are in this place?" Leah asked, looking around so that her parents missed the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Uh…" Vaughn swallowed nervously. "Two."

Leah nodded. "Good. No one will have to take the couch." It took a moment for her meaning to sink through the thick skulls of her parents. Leah burst out laughing at their looks when it did. "I should call Jeff," she said when she could talk again. "And leave you two alone. Where might I find a phone?"

Vaughn gestured wordlessly toward the doorway into the kitchen.

"A secure line, right?"

Vaughn nodded.

"Okay." Leah grinned. "Have fun, you two."

Vaughn looked over at Sydney, who was smiling. 

"Why couldn't we have a son?" he asked finally. "I think I'd be a little more comfortable with that. And our first meeting wouldn't have been so humiliating…"

"Oh?" Sydney raised her eyebrows.

"You haven't heard about that yet? Well, I'm sure Eric will tell you the first chance he gets. Right now, I can think of more important things…"

He leaned down and kissed her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff pounced on the phone--from across the living room, earning him a warning look from his father--before it finished its first ring.

"Hello?"

"Jeff?"

"Leah?!?"

"It's me. I'm okay. Did you talk to my Mom?"

"Yes. And your father." Jeff strode out onto the back porch, shutting the door securely behind himself.

"How much do you know?" Leah asked softly.

"That you were frickin' kidnapped!" Jeff yelled. "That your parents are CIA, and _they _couldn't find you!"

"I had no idea what I was getting into," Leah admitted softly. "I was stupid. You have every right to yell at me."

Jeff could practically hear the tears pool in her eyes over the phone line, depleting his considerable reserve of anger.

"Lee, I'm sorry. After all you've been through, I have no right to yell at you. Are you okay?"

Leah didn't answer.

"Lee? Baby, I'm _sorry_," Jeff pleaded. "Talk to me."

"I'm alive, and I'm not hurt, so yeah, I'm okay," Leah said. "I'm just…everything is so different than it was a week ago. Nothing's the same."

"Not everything, Lee. You know I'm still here for you, right?"

"Yeah." Leah blinked back tears. "I'm just not sure of anything in my life any more. I'm not even sure of _me._" She wasn't going to explain Project Christmas over the phone.

"I love you, Leah, you can be sure of that. And I miss you. Do you know when you'll be home?"

"No. but I think my dad is going to be coming back with us."

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah. More so for Mom. Now I won't have to feel guilty about leaving her to go to college."

"You did? You never told me you were worried about leaving."

"I just didn't want to leave my mom alone. Now I won't have to. They're still in love after all this time." Leah smiled. "I think it's good for both of them."

"That's good for you, too."

"Yeah, I guess so, I just wish I could have known him sooner. I never really minded the lack, but now that I've met him I wish I could have grown up with him, you know? I'll never have the same kind of relationship with him as I do with Mom."

Jeff laughed suddenly.

"Sorry, it's just you and you're mother are pretty horrible together. I don't think this little town could stand another relationship like that."

Leah laughed too.

"I have a feeling my parents are kind of like that, too. You mess with one of them, and both of them are gonna kick your ass. They just work well together."

"May be we'll be like that someday," Jeff said quietly.

Leah thought for a moment.

"I think I'd like to have what they have with you, Jeff," she finally said. "Just without the whole thing about Dad not knowing about his daughter for eighteen years, "she added quickly. "And," she continued jokingly, "If you get me pregnant, I'm gonna beat you down, then make you deal with it, not run away."

Jeff laughed. 

"Then I'll think twice about it and learn karate first."

"If I were there right now, I'd hit you," Leah said, laughing in spite of her self.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Everybody say it with me now: _Aww, how sweet!_ I couldn't resist. I'm a hopeless romantic. I couldn't give Leah a boyfriend without wrapping it all up nice and neat.

There's only one more chapter left now. I think the epilogue wraps it all up quite nicely, but I'll leave that up to you to decide!


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

Disclaimer: Still no wit seems to reveal itself. It's not mine.

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Her car had still been in the CIA parking lot, surprisingly unharmed. She must have lost the tail after all, and they'd just guessed correctly where she'd been going. She'd driven it home to Georgia, followed closely by her mother who was followed even more closely by Vaughn. Jack Bristow, Leah suspected from pieces of conversations she'd overheard between her parents, had scrambled several satellite signals a gotten a hold of a scrambler that screwed up every radio signal in LA. At least, Leah's car radio hadn't picked up a signal until they'd been well outside the city, and then it wasn't a signal from LA.

From what she'd been told, Vaughn was just disappearing from the CIA with her grandfather's help. Apparently, he'd known all along about Sydney and never said a word, even going on to be director of the CIA.

__

Scary, Leah thought, _that a man hiding so much is directing the nation's intelligence. _But she trusted him.

Jeff had thrown a fit when e found out se was driving back, but Leah had threatened to show him what she'd demonstrated to Vaughn, and Vaughn had advised him against angering her.

Leah was cleaning out her car minutes after arriving home when she found the little red box she'd put under her front seat to keep it safe. Curious, she unwrapped it. Inside the box was a gold chain and a pendant with the initials L and J. The cursive letters were entwined together. She picked up the little note under the pendant.

__

I saw this and couldn't help but think of us. I hope you like it. Jeff

Leah had to laugh. During her whole ordeal, she'd constantly wanted someone fully on her side. If she'd opened the gift earlier, the necklace would have been a constant talisman reminding her Jeff _was_ on her side.

She laughed again when Jeff's car pulled into the driveway behind her. She hugged him before he was all the way out of the car, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"For what?" Jeff asked.

Leah held up the pendant and grinned. Jeff smiled too.

"Leah, I want us to always be together," Jeff said softly. "Promise you won't go off to college and forget me. I love you."

Leah kissed his cheek. "As long as you don't forget me." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "If you do, I'll kick your ass until you remember _real _well," she threatened.

"Babe, I'm immune to the Bristow women's charms…or lack thereof, if you ask me," Jeff teased.

Leah shook her head and took his hand. "Come in and meet my dad," she begged.

"Should I be afraid?"

"No more than you are of my mother."

"Then I'll be very _wary_…"

****

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Okay, S/V are together, L/J are together, all is right with the world. Especially since the woman can keep their guy in line, what with their advanced self defense skills!


End file.
